When it comes to building your own pizza, you’ve never had more choices! While I’m a huge fan and supporter of local pizza joints along with more upscale Neapolitan pizza joints, sometimes you just need something quick and easy and Build Your Own Pizza (BYOP) restaurants have been popping up left and right around the Triangle. Over the past five years, we’ve seen Blaze Pizza, Your Pie, Pieology and MOD Pizza open up locations throughout the area. Following the same basic Chipotle-like concept, you choose from one of the suggested house pizzas or build your own custom pizza with unlimited toppings. Your personal pizza is put together right in front of you as you move down a pizza prep area choosing your custom ingredients! Pay at the cash register, grab your drink and you’ll have a short wait before your individual pie is brought to your table. Pizzas typically only take 5 minutes or so to bake, so service can be pretty quick depending on how busy the place is. But there are differences between each of the options, here’s my take on your Build Your Own Pizza options in the Triangle! (Pricing as of September 2018)

The grand-daddy of the BYOP pizza joints tin the Triangle, Blaze Pizza offers up Neapolitan-style pies in a blink of the eye! Given the number of BYOP options what Blaze does really well is pizza crust. They’ve only got a couple of options including gluten-free and a high-rise dough but the basic crust is light and airy with a bit of char (leopard spotting) on the bottom, yum! Besides pizza, Blaze offers a handful of salads, desserts (smores pie, brownie) and that’s about it. Blaze’s dining room is pretty hip and modern, a nice and bright space. With four locations in the Triangle, you’ll also have plenty of options to try out Blaze Pizza and I’d have to put them near the top of my list for chain pizza choices.

Your Pie is a newer BYOP chain and only has two locations in the Triangle in Cary and Brier Creek. Your Pie does a similar crust to Blaze (tender and light), I’d call it a Neapolitan-style pie but adds some other menu options such as paninis, salads, gelato and beer-wine. I’ve also tried some of their specialty seasonal pies, the peach and prosciutto was a very nice summer option. Overall I think Your Pie is a bit more gourmet when it comes to its pies and a solid option to grab a quick lunch! However, note that their pie is a bit smaller then the competition’s.

With three locations in the Triangle suburbs, MOD Pizza seems to be a popular option for families. The pies at MOD Pizaa have a chewier, flakier crust, which feels more more commercial to me, similar to Dominos. But they’ve got a great array of topping options including seven different cheeses and eight different finishing sauces/drizzles. Salads, bread sticks and beer/wine are also available at MOD Pizza in a dining room that’s a bit more casual. Overall a good spot for a basic pie that’ll keep most everyone happy, lots of variety available here at MOD Pizza.

Pieology in Raleigh – nctriangledining.comPizza assembly at Pieology in Raleigh – nctriangledining.comMade to Meat you pizza at Pieology in Raleigh – nctriangledining.comPlethora of pizzas at Pieology in Raleigh – nctriangledining.com

Pieology – Raleigh – 3 Stars ($8.95 for 11.5″ pie)

Pieology is the smallest BYOP chain in the Triangle with only one location at North Hills. They offer up what I would call a bar-type pizza with more of a cracker-crust, thin and snappy. Pieology has a good selection of toppings including some after bake sauces drizzled on top. It’s a thinner and less substantial pie than your other options but still tasty. Pieology goes for a very modern dining room from a decor and design standpoint.

I’ll be honest with you, pizza is like sex to me: Even when it’s bad it’s still pretty good and I’d happily eat at any of these BYOP spots in the Triangle. Because how can you complain when you can choose exactly what YOU want on your pizza? Build Your Own Pizza is a great option for busy families with picky eaters since most everyone loves pizza! So enjoy all these BYOP pizza options in the Triangle. And the beauty of an individual pizza is that you get exactly what you want and don’t have to share it…